Illinois Judge Releases Terrorist

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Judge OKs release Illinois man charged with terror

CHICAGO (AP) — In a rare move for terror cases, a federal judge agreed Thursday to release on home confinement an Illinois teenager charged with seeking to travel abroad and join an al-Qaida-linked militant group in war-torn Syria.

Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, 18, of Aurora, was arrested at O'Hare International Airport last month as he allegedly prepared for the first leg of a trip to join Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusrah, which is fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

In arguing for continued detention, prosecutors also noted Thursday that Tounisi had allegedly spoken with a friend of his last year about bombing targets in Chicago. Tounisi is not charged in that case, though the friend, Adel Daoud, was and is in jail awaiting trial.

After announcing his surprise ruling, the otherwise soft-spoken U.S. magistrate judge leaned forward on his bench Thursday and raised his voice, telling the teenager he should take the allegations seriously.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Judge-OKs-release-Illinois-man-charged-with-terror-4483464.php#ixzz2SCHw2J4l